You were a mountain bike pioneer 30 years ago as Savognin's tourism director
. We discovered mountain biking in 1992 and signposted the first trails. At the same time, we brought major international events to the region, but basically we were probably a bit too early back then. The sport was not yet accepted by the population and was seen as a marginal phenomenon.

Today, Savognin has little significance.
Destinations need people with vision. But if the valley community doesn't want to go along with this, it's not a sustainable basis. You end up dealing with internal issues and going round in circles. At the same time, destinations today need to sharpen their profile, they need a clear positioning of what they stand for and what they don't stand for. This weak positioning is the problem of many places in mountain regions today.

You then switched to the accommodation industry and were Managing Director of Swiss Youth Hostels for 22 years. What has changed in these two decades?
Guest behavior is completely different. In the past, you could count on regular guests staying for a week or two. Today, guests stay for less time and move seamlessly from the SAC hut to the luxury hotel. They are no longer clearly identifiable and are completely hybrid. But they are also more responsible today. The most striking change, however, is digitalization. Although it is still considered a challenge in tourism today, it is actually a great opportunity, as it takes away a lot of administrative or repetitive work. Once this is the case, you can focus more on hospitality again.

Sometimes, however, you get the feeling that digitalization is an end in itself.
It may seem that way because digitalization is one of the major trends in society. Then there are the megatrends of globalization and anonymization. However, these trends always lead to counter-trends, and this is where tourism can and must come in. Themes such as ecology, community and emotionality are becoming increasingly important as a contrast. The major megatrends are becoming basic needs on which the counter-trends then build.

Are these topics that you, as a member of the Board of Directors of Engadin St. Moritz, are focusing on?
Exactly, and these counter-trends are precisely the kind of topics in which mountain biking will play an important role. In my view, however, we are only at the beginning of mountain bike tourism. The sport will continue to grow significantly. There are currently some destinations that are clearly positioning themselves in the mountain bike environment, but they are generally aimed at freaks. We need to broaden the mountain biking offer even more. And: mountain biking and cycling will be an integral part of all infrastructure in the future.

But that is not yet the case today.
In many places, there is still a strong disparity with winter. We need to get away from this fixation on snow sports. Ideally, half of the added value should be generated in winter and the other half in summer. This can compensate for winters with little snow and rainy summers. Mountain biking is enormously important against the background of strengthening the summer. They are no longer a marginalized group and will continue to grow in importance. So it's actually nice to see how the sport has developed over the last thirty years since my time in Savognin.

Speech at the Ride Congress:

Fredi Gmür is a veteran of Swiss tourism and has shaped it for three decades. Today, he works as a consultant and is a new member of the Board of Directors of Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus. He will be speaking at the Ride Congress on October 1, 2020 and will be adapting his experience to the sport of mountain biking.

• fredigmuer.ch
• kongress.ride.ch